According to Caroline Ceniza-Levine, career expert with Six Figure Start, most office cultures range between people constantly joking around and playing pranks to an office where no one jokes around. If you don’t have a “read” on your office, Ceniza-Levine suggests that you “err on the side of caution and forego the humor.” Not sure whether a joke is in good taste, Ceniza-Levine says that your uncertainty is a red-flag warning for you not to use that type of humor….

On gauging appropriateness of humor: Ceniza-Levine says the best humor should lighten the mood—not bring people down — and is typically based on something we all can relate to.

On humor in email and texts: Ceniza-Levine believes that humor in email and texts should be avoided at all costs. She suggests that if you feel you must use humor in a particular situation, write it out, save it, and come back to it later with fresh eyes. Chances are that you will make changes or decide not to send it at all.

On Bullying, including bullying yourself with self-deprecation: Ceniza-Levine concurs also saying not to make jokes at anyone’s expense: She asks you to consider whether you can make the same jokes to a child, to your grandmother? “That’s the level of sensitivity you should take in the workplace because you don’t know how other people feel.” Ceniza-Levine also says that self-deprecating humor in the office is not a good idea: “You might think it shows humility, but it really shows lack of self-confidence and self-respect.”